'Bricklayer' gives insider's look at FBI

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, February 1, 2010

NORWALK

By A.J. O'CONNELL

Hour Staff Writer

Noah Boyd's has no problem admitting that his current job as an author is a distant second to the one he had for years. Until his retirement in the '90s, Boyd was an agent for the FBI. His specialty was tracking down serial killers.

"Every day, going to work was like living my fantasy," said Boyd, 66. "Work was great and the camaraderie was great."

Toward the end of his career, however, Boyd began to get disillusioned with the bureau's management.

Boyd's new novel, "The Bricklayer" (William Morrow, $24.99) draws on his experience with and his feelings about the FBI.

In the novel, which has been out a week, Boyd writes about Steve Vail, a former FBI agent, fired for insubordination. Vail is living a low-key life as a bricklayer until he's in the wrong place a the wrong time; two men hold up his bank, Vail thwarts the robbery, and finds himself drawn back into the bureau. Deputy Assistant Director Kate Bannon needs Vail's help to target a shadowy group that's been killing the FBI's enemies and demanding

It's worth mentioning that Boyd wrote this novel under a pseudonym, although if you think he's using a pen name to hide from a vengeful FBI, you can think again. FBI agents-turned-authors are obliged to submit manuscripts to the bureau's Prepublication Review Office.

"The FBI, believe it or not, has read this book," said Boyd.

Boyd, already a writer, is using a pen name because he wants to take his writing in a different direction.

Creative writing has not always been Boyd's strong point.

"At one point in college I failed English," said Boyd. "So either the book is real crappy or I've improved."

Boyd began writing when he came back from working on the Green River murders in Washington. He felt that while his brain worked well when he was working on cases, he was lacking mental stimulation outside of work.

"I thought 'Geez, my brain is rotting,'" said Boyd, and went to local adult education program to sign up for a math class.

There was a problem; no math classes were available. Instead, a creative writing class was offered.

"I said 'What the hell. Why not,'" said Boyd, and submitted a three-page short story to his instructor.

She encouraged him, urging Boyd to draw on his experience with the FBI to write. Boyd didn't commit to the idea at first, but his retirement from the bureau was looming, and he gave the idea some thought.

"All of a sudden," he said, "I got serious about it."

For "Bricklayer," Boyd began writing about the things that bothered him, the changes in the FBI, and what he called the "deterioration" of the bureau's management.

His colleagues in the FBI, said Boyd, lauded him for his "vengeful mistreatment of management."

One of the reasons Boyd doesn't read genre mysteries is because many of those novels don't give an accurate portrayal of the bureau. He wants his own readers to get an authentic picture of what the FBI is like.

"I just want them to enjoy the book," he said. "I try to give them insight into what it's like to be an FBI agent."